Largest Lottery Jackpots in U.S. History

No one hit all six numbers in the Powerball drawing last night, so the jackpot for Saturday climbs to nearly $500 million dollars and it moves up on our list of the biggest jackpots in history.

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The Powerball jackpot continues to grow. Since there was no winner Wednesday night, the prize moves up on our Top 20 list of largest jackpots in history at $495 million. This puts the amount at #12 on the list.

I'm already dreaming about the big ticket items I will buy once my numbers roll in.

Here’s a list of the top 20 prizes from the multistate games: Powerball and Mega Millions:

1. $1.6 billion Powerball January 13, 2016. There were 3 winning tickets for this prize. These tickets were purchased in Tennessee, Florida and California. Each had the option to take a lump sum of $327.8 million.

2. $1.5 billion Mega Millions October 2018. There was one winning ticket purchased in South Carolina. The ticket was sold at a KC Mart convenience store in the town of Simpsonville. This is the largest single ticket jackpot in U.S. history.

3. $758 million, Powerball won August 24, 2018 by Mavis Wanczyk of Massachusets. She chose the lump sum payment of $480 million.

4. $656 million, Mega Millions, won March 30, 2012, by three tickets, sold in Maryland, Illinois and Kansas. Cash: $471 million